So,,

I rotated my tires last week and now the steering shakes like crazy at 40 mph. It was 50 mph when it did it about 6 months ago before rotating them. The shop balanced them three times now. They are claiming it’s the cupping that’s causing it and recommend new tires.

it’s really bad when I brake and slow down to about 10-15

 

I wouldn't say it causes death wobble, but does really let you feel the uneven treads at slow speed and makes road noise at higher speeds. AT tires are less prone to it compared to mid terrain tires. My new-to-me 2014 that I just bought on Saturday is at a tire shop as I type this for new tires because of the rough, noisy ride. Putting on Duratracs.

 

Cupping and game over. Had this happen to me too... only option was to replace tires. At least that's what I was told and did. Nothing else worked.

 

You can feel the cupping on the tire with your hand and if it is that bad you can easily see it. Maybe it is just one wheel. Once the cupping is there you can't do much about it. I would look to find out what caused the cupping so you don't end up with another set of tires ruined.

 

I was told cupping is a factor of aggressive tread tires on a solid front axle. The only way to prevent is to rotate often. The fact that cupping happens is not an indication that there is definatly something wrong with your Jeep. It's goes with the territory of a solid front axle.

 

thanks guys. I didn’t think it was possible for cupping to cause this kind of wobble. It seems ridiculous to say. I figured they were simply trying to sell tires.

I have had many different sets of mud tires. I have boggers on my older Jeep. Had Nitto Mud Grapplers on the f150 and did exactly what you mentioned. Rotated constantly and they wore great, no cupping at all.

something else is going on though. I am afraid if I don’t figure it out soon, the wobble is going to cause damage to something. I have a new rubicon express heavy duty forged adjustable track bar on it. And the tie rod appears aftermarket, as it is larger in diameter than stock.

where to start??

 

If you just rotated them and the tires that were on the rear (now front) are cupped, then I would look at your back shocks. Bad worn out shocks will cup tires very quickly. Being on the back they should have smoothed out (if they had any cupping when you rotated them last).

 

Start with torque. All of the nuts have a particular torque and you want at least that value, sometimes a touch more. Then paint a stripe across it so you know it isn't moving. Check ball joints too.

 

will do today. Thank you

 

If the tie rod is aftermarket the tow might not have been set correctly and may be contributing to the cupping on the front tires. Check that the inward toe in is 1/16 to 1/8"